Desolate Era (Book 36 - Book 40)

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Arcs of sword-light flew around Ji Ning in an orderly process while growing increasingly powerful.

The Jindan chaos region inside of Ning’s body was currently making use of various treasures to establish a ‘sea of diffracted light’. This sea would in turn birth and hold the energy needed for the [Grand Diffraction Sword]. Like the nine novessence arts, this was a type of outside power! However, to train this technique was extremely difficult, requiring an extremely high level of insight into the Dao. Ning was finding it quite laborious and taxing to establish this diffraction sea.

The deeper the sea became, the more powerful his [Grand Diffraction Sword] would become! If he could truly master this Hegemonic secret art, he would be able to beat Archons senseless with casual strikes from it.

……

Fortunately, Ning’s mastery of the Dao of the Sword had no weaknesses. Although this secret art had high requirements in many different aspects of the Dao of the Sword, Ning was able to slowly master it. After spending over a thousand years, Ning finally finished establishing his diffraction sea. This sea of diffracted light was now more than thirty thousand kilometers wide, signifying that he had mastered the first two stages of the [Grand Diffraction Sword]. The very first stage of this technique was already comparable to the nine novessence arts. The second stage was much more powerful.

Ning rose to his feet, dispelling the mist which had surrounded the mountain for so long, then stared at the world about him. “Now that my secret arts are mastered, it is time to go back.”

“Focus.” Ning pointed from afar. Instantly, part of his will containing his sword-arts legacy shot out of his finger. Although this wasn’t the Omega Sword Dao, it was still something which would allow someone to establish the most stable foundation possible in the Dao of the Sword. It would allow cultivators to walk the path most suitable for them… and in this realm, where the highest skilled cultivators were merely Celestial Immortals, it would allow practitioners to become invincible with ease.

“I, Darknorth, meditated on the Dao in this place and became a Daolord of the Fourth Step here. It can be said that karma binds us together, and so I have left a fragment of my will. The one who passes my trials and acquires this fragment of my will shall gain my legacy and become my personal disciple, the fourth disciple under my tutelage.” Ning had already set up a number of trials within the mountain with ease. Anyone who came would have to first follow Ning’s trials as he set them up.

If someone wished to breach the trials through raw force? Even supreme Daolords could well die unless they had incredible life-preserving abilities!

Whoosh. Ning took a single step forwards, disappearing from the mountain.

……

Although Ning had spent over a hundred million years in seclusion, in truth all of those years had been spent within the Vastheaven Everworld.

Within Vastheaven Palace. As soon as Ning returned to his own residence, Emperor Solesky hurried over to meet him.

“Master.” Just as Su Youji called out in delight, she saw Emperor Solesky fly towards them. She hurriedly bowed: “Greetings, Emperor.”

“Step back for now,” Emperor Solesky instructed.

“Alright.” Although Su Youji was a bit puzzled, she immediately retreated.

After Su Youji left, Emperor Solesky said hurriedly, “Darknorth, why have you come back? I told you to go into hiding and not reveal yourself! Although no one in Vastheaven Palace would leak this information, we still need to be careful. There might be Eternal Emperors scrying on us from outside. If they see that your true body has returned, we’re going to be in serious trouble.”

“No need to worry that much, big brother,” Ning said.

“The situation is extremely grim,” Emperor Solesky explained. “I already told you last time… Archon Silksnow has arranged for many different organizations to track your whereabouts. Some of my friends, however, have told me that someone else just as powerful as Archon Silksnow is also trying to trace your whereabouts. For now, I haven’t been able to find out just who it is, but judging from the amount of manpower he’s been able to move, there’s no question that he’s at least as strong as Archon Silksnow.”

“It is the Aeonians,” Ning explained.

“The Aeonian race?!” Emperor Solesky was shocked.

“They aren’t just searching for me in the Dao Alliance, they are also searching for me in the Brightshore Kingdom,” Ning explained. “Hegemon Brightshore has warned me long ago.”

“Archon Silksnow is famous for being a savage madman. It is ‘normal’ for him to behave in such a frenzied manner… but why are the Aeonians searching for you?” Emperor Solesky was puzzled.

Ning smiled calmly. “Because of a treasure.”

“You aren’t worried at all?” Emperor Solesky was rather flabbergasted.

“Worried? Why should I be worried? They should be the ones to worry.” Ning smiled. He was at a different level of power now, and so he was also in a different state of mind.

He had been weaker than them in the past, and he didn’t have an invulnerable form, nor did he have any powerful protective treasures. He was constantly at risk of dying! Even his Lifeblood Dao-seal had been used up. Of course he had to be in hiding.

Now, he was much stronger and more confident in himself. Why would he fear Archon Silksnow or the Aeonians?

“You…?” Emperor Solesky was rather puzzled.

“Big brother Solesky, I’m planning to pay a visit to the Brightshore Kingdom. After that… I’m planning to attack the Sacred City of Silksnow and kill Archon Silksnow.” A murderous look flashed through Ning’s eyes. “It’s going to cause a bit of a stir, so I wanted to give you advance notice. No need to worry.”

“You are going to attack the Sacred City of Silksnow and kill Archon Silksnow?!” Emperor Solesky was stunned.

“Well. I might not be able to kill him, but I’ll uproot him and everything he’s ever established.” Ning’s eyes flickered icily. He was going to ‘kill a chicken to frighten off the monkeys’, warning any others that he was not to be messed with. Archon Silksnow was nothing more than a chicken for him to use in this plan!

In the coming days, there would be cases where he would occasionally reveal his strength. This would definitely surprise and puzzle many. Previously, for him to be able to rely on the [Heartsword] art and other art to just barely reach the Archon level was already a freakish display of strength in talent… but it was still within the realm of believability! But when he now revealed an even more terrifying level of power, it would truly stun everyone.

How could a Daolord reach such a level of power? This was completely illogical. It made no sense at all! And yet, it had happened. How? Perhaps the Hegemons and the other ancient cultivators would try to capture Ning and force him to hand over his secrets.

For the sake of personal power, anything and everything was possible. Ning didn’t want to go through all that trouble… and so he was going to go out of his way to show everyone just how hard he could hit! He was going to dominate Archon Silksnow in a display of absolute power! That way, no one would dare to plot against him. Even if they did want to learn some of Ning’s secrets, they wouldn’t make an enemy out of him without a good reason. No one in the Endless Territories, after all, would want to offend someone who could dominate Archon Silksnow!